hearken

verb heark·en \ ˈhär-kən \

variants: or harken

Updated on: 28 Feb 2018

hearkened or harkened; hearkening play \ˈhärk-niŋ, ˈhär-kə-\ or harkening

intransitive verb

1 : listen

hearkened without much mental comment
—Theodore Dreiser

2 : to give respectful attention

the humble folk who hearkened to these evangelists
—G. M. Stephenson

transitive verb

archaic : to give heed to : hear

See hearken defined for kids

Examples of hearken in a Sentence

hearken! I hear the distant beat of the hooves of many horses

Recent Examples of hearken from the Web

Leave it to the St. Anthony Club to be a true throwback, though: the gentleman’s-style speakeasy hearkens Ivy League clubs of old, where patrons might compare insignia rings over the notes of a Steinway.

— Condé Nast Traveler, "The St. Anthony (Luxury Collection)," 20 Oct. 2017
Particle’s ambitions hearken to the pragmatic start-up projects that Penn’s Wharton School now encourages from its business students, and to the cycling of classroom study and on-the-job field work long in fashion at Drexel University.

— jonathan takiff, Philly.com, "String Theory trades free startup work spaces for student engagement," 4 Oct. 2017
The display hearkens to a certain dark corner of World War II historiography, to books profuse in profiles of particularly sadistic SS officers.

— andrew koenig, National Review, "Eichmann Revisited," 9 Sep. 2017
That hearkens to its incorporation by a late-arriving tribe of pioneers of European origin.

— stephen nash, New York Times, "At Bears Ears in Utah, Heated Politics and Precious Ruins," 25 July 2017
A wonderful sequence including multicolored sands and a globe of water hearkens back to ancient Egypt.

— mel shields, sacbee, "Rob Lake brings the magic to Harrah’s," 20 July 2017
For Algonquin, the swiftly rising Fox River hearkened back to memories of damaging flooding in 2013, according to village President John Schmitt.

— mike danahey, Elgin Courier-News, "Elgin area anxious for Fox River to crest," 17 July 2017
But his 23-point, six-rebound performance in Charlotte hearkened back to his 11-year NBA career.

— c jackson cowart, charlotteobserver, "Is the BIG3 a professional basketball league or a traveling sideshow?," 2 July 2017
Petroff reports that the chambers' restored frescoes hearken back to Rome’s pagan roots and early Biblical influences.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Restored Roman Catacombs Reveal Stunning Frescoes," 5 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hearken.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of hearken

Middle English herknen, from Old English heorcnian; akin to Old High German hōrechen to listen, Old English hīeran to hear

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

hearken Synonyms

Phrases

prick up one's ears;

HEARKEN Defined for Kids

hearken

verb hear·ken \ ˈhär-kən \

hearkened; hearkening

: listen 1

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See words that rhyme with hearken Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hearken Spanish Central: Translation of hearken Nglish: Translation of hearken for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of hearken for Arabic speakers

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hearken

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HEARKEN Defined for Kids

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